Girmay indicates that 'EF man drove into him', Van den Berg team states that Dutchman could not go anywhere© Provided by In the leader's jersey

Everything seemed to be going smoothly for Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) in this Tour, but on Tuesday there was still a setback in Nimes. The sprinter from Eritrea crashed at the start of the last kilometer and eventually crossed the finish line without scoring any points. After the stage, he initially skipped the podium ceremony so that he could have everything checked in the X-ray car.

The Eritrean crossed the finish line together with teammates Hugo Page and Kobe Goossens, a good minute after winner and closest competitor Jasper Philipsen. The latter took the victory in Nimes and thus gained a considerable amount of points on the wearer of the green jersey. Towards the final stages of the Tour de France, and no more sprint stages left, the difference between the two is now 32 points. 'But I especially hope that Biniam is okay', according to the sporty Philipsen.

Girmay decided - wisely as he is - to have his injuries checked first and initially skipped the podium ceremony as the wearer of the points jersey. After the other jersey wearers were honored, he appeared on the podium after all. He already seemed to be stitched up and he also limped on the podium, which is already somewhat positive news.

Later he came with his medical bulletin in the flash interview. 'My knee is a bit swollen, just like my elbow. You can see it from the fluid in it and I've also got stitches on my elbow, but I'm okay', Girmay said. 'When you fall, it's always the morning after that you know the exact consequences. Hopefully it won't be too bad. In any case, I was able to ride a bike and I feel mentally and physically fine, so it will probably be fine.'

How did that happen? 'We knew it was the last stage for the sprinters and everyone wanted to be at the front, including ourselves. There were a lot of roundabouts in the last ten kilometers and it narrows down every time, and a guy from EF Education-EasyPost suddenly drove into me and I couldn't do anything about it. Within a second I was on the ground.'

EF came up with their version of the story later that evening, in which Marijn van den Berg went down. 'The peloton was riding at sixty kilometers per hour over those roundabouts, after which Marijn was suddenly cut off by another rider who slid and went down', the American formation wrote. The Dutchman only has some scrapes and bruises and can start in the next stage to the satisfaction of his team.

Laurance saw Girmay's fall happen: 'It happened very fast'

Axel Laurance (Alpecin-Deceuninck) saw the crash happen and gave some insight into his impressions afterwards. 'It was very fast, so I hope everyone who was there is OK,' said the Frenchman.

Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Dstny) was just ahead and knew more about the cause of the crash. 'A few men went shoulder to shoulder and I almost fell, but behind me they did hit the ground. That's sprinting, unfortunately', the Belgian said immediately after the finish of the stage.